Last Modified: Wednesday, October 23, 2013 at 7:15 p.m.

Police spray paint shows where the "suspicious" white minivan was parked Tuesday night when North Port Police Officer Aaron Nick approached the vehicle. Police said the unknown occupant of the minivan brandished a gun. Officer Nick fired multiple rounds at the occupant, who was declared dead at North Port's Sarasota Memorial Hospital Emergency Room.

Staff photo / Shelby Webb

Officer Aaron Nick, 43, who has been on the force since 1994, shot and killed an unknown occupant of a minivan late Tuesday after police said the man brandished a gun.

Authorities refused to release other details about the incident on Wednesday, including the identity of the man who was killed.

Nick fired multiple rounds at the man, police said. Nick was investigating a suspicious white minivan about a half-mile north of Interstate 75 on Toledo Blade Boulevard about 10:48 p.m.

The minivan was parked on a paved driveway near an unmarked steel gate.

About a minute after walking up to the car, Nick called out, “Shots fired!” after the man in the minivan brandished a gun, according to police.

“Our officer did fire several rounds at the suspect,” said North Port Police Capt. Anthony Sirianni. The minivan's occupant “was struck and later pronounced dead at North Port's Sarasota Memorial Hospital Emergency Room,” he said.

Nick was not injured.

Neighbors said they did not hear any gunshots from the secluded, rural area.

Sirianni said the Sheriff's Office was called to handle the investigation as part of the Police Department's protocol.

“It takes away the interpretation that there could be bias,” Sirianni said.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Wendy Rose said investigators would look into whether the shooting was justifiable, as well as other aspects of the incident. They will then turn findings over to the State Attorney's Office to determine what action, if any, should be taken.

The Police Department placed Nick on paid administrative leave, which Police Chief Kevin Vespia said is also part of department protocol.

Nick's personnel file is filled with more than 200 pages of commendations. He was disciplined once, in 2005, for a longer-than-usual response time to a call. His salary last year was $64,394.

Attempts to reach Nick for comment were unsuccessful.

Rose said that Sheriff Tom Knight was not available for comment.

EARLIER: North Port police have turned over to the Sarasota County Sheriff's Department the investigation into a fatal shooting late Tuesday night involving a North Port police officer.

But the Sheriff's Department is refusing to release details about the incident, including the identities of the person who was killed or the officer involved.

The North Police Department said an officer fired multiple rounds at an unidentified man while the officer was inspecting a suspicious car about a half mile north of Interstate 75 on Toledo Blade Boulevard around 10:48 p.m.

About a minute later, the officer called out, “shots fired,” after the man in the minivan threatened the officer with a gun, according to police.

“Our officer did fire several rounds at the suspect,” North Port Police Captain Anthony Sirianni said. “(The minivan's occupant) was struck and later pronounced dead at North Port's Sarasota Memorial Hospital Emergency Room.”

The officer was not injured.

Sirianni said the Sheriff's Office was called to handle the investigation as part of the police department's protocol.

“It takes away the interpretation that there could be bias,” Sirianni said.

EARLIER: A North Port Police officer shot and killed a man after police said the man threatened the officer with a gun Tuesday night.

Police said the officer was inspecting a suspicious car when the shots rang out.

At about 10:48 p.m. Tuesday night, police said an officer went to check out a suspicious white minivan about a half mile north of Interstate 75 on Toledo Blade Boulevard.

About a minute later, the officer called out, “shots fired,” after the man in the minivan threatened the officer with a gun, according to police.

“Our officer did fire several rounds at the suspect,” Captain Sirianni said. “(The minivan's occupant) was struck and later pronounced dead at North Port's Sarasota Memorial Hospital Emergency Room.”

The officer was not injured.

The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office is investigating the incident, and the North Port Police officer has been placed on paid administrative leave.

Police would not identify the officer or the victim, citing the ongoing investigation.

EARLIER: One person is dead after shots were fired while police investigated a van parked on a road north of Interstate 75 in North Port late Tuesday, officials said.

The name of the deceased, who was in the van at the time of the shooting, was not released as an investigation into the shooting continues, according to the North Port Police Department. The victim was pronounced dead at an area hospital.

The officer was not injured, a police department press release noted.

The incident unfolded around 10:48 p.m. roughly a half-mile north of I-75 on Toledo Blade Boulevard, as that roadway gives way to Choctaw Boulevard, according to that press release. In a largely undeveloped area.there, a police officer rolled up to inspect a "suspicious vehicle."

Just a minute later, the officer radioed in to report "shots fired," and additional police units raced to the scene, the release stated.

Initial reports from the police department state that the suspect had displayed some type of weapon when encountered.

North Port police requested the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office to investigate the shooting, per department policy.

Check back for details on this developing story.

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